[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> bill: hey, hey, hello everybody. it is tuesday. tuesday, june 12. >> good morning. this is the big press show broadcasting live on your radio computer and current t.v. from our nation's capital. i'm john fugelsang filling in today and i'm delighted to be here with you. this is october 1 the birthday of mark mcguire and 88th 88th birthday of former president jimmy carter. it's cold in our nation's capitol but we are very pleads

to be talking with you about the issues that matter most. please feel free to call us. >> good morning everyone. both candidates are gearing up for the first presidential debate. president obama will stay in nevada for the next few days to wrap up final preparations. he campaigned in las vegas last night to a group of 11,000 supporters and in an effort to manage his expectations said he's just an okay debater. >> i know folks in the media are speculating already on who's going to have the best zingers. >> you will. >> i don't know about that. president romney is a good debater. >> that is in response to reports that romney is prepping and plans on taking jabs at the president. obama spokeswoman is saying

don't expect the president to fire any blows and he looks forward to continuing his conversation with the american people. the president is traveling with a prep team, david axelrod anita dunn and senator john kerry. kerry is playing romney during the mock debates with the president. the team is hunkering down to get the president ready. romney is campaigning in denver today with a stop with the wings over the rockies museum. paul ryan is at a rally in iowa. early voting in iowa is now underway. a washington post poll out this morning shows 63% of registered voters expect president obama to win reelection and a washington times zombie poll has the president with a pretty good

lead. more coming up after the break. stay with us. you're about to watch an ad message created by a current tv viewer for capella university. matter. education is the key. it is the vehicle. it's the way in which we evolve. every journey is different every possibility is unique. but the beginning, the beginning is my craft. i'm an ordinary person striving to achieve extraordinary things. it started with a dream and i'm on my way there.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting >> broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current t.v., this is the bill press show. now filling in for bill, here's john fugelsang. >> this is the bill press show, this is john filing. this is october 1. it is cold in our nation's capitol. i hope it's more pleasant wherever you happen to be listening. a lot of stuff to talk about today actually. want to know your thoughts on the first debate coming up this week. if you have advice for the president or governor romney?

my advice was taking the bolt out of your neck. i think he has looked better ever since he has done it. he said he is rehearsing his zingers. i can't wait to see those rolled out. what questions do you think governor romney and president obama will not be asked in the debates? what questions do you think they should be asked. we would love to know your thoughts. you can call us anytime this morning at 866-55-press. that's 866-55-press. i am assisted as always by the great, brilliant alpha and omega, the oar text. >> wow. that was mighty kind of you sir. >> nice to know someone is really flying this ship. we have a lot to talk about.

i am happy to fling that i will be covering this debate along with former vice president al gore eliot splitser and jennifer granholm as well as the young turks. >> that's what people should be watching. >> they should be, because it's pretty entertaining. you will get to see the full debate, also your tweets on the side of the screen, so commentary and the debate at the same time. that's going to be a lot of fun. paul ryan making an awkward appearance with chris wallace yesterday on fox news. the path to reelection clear for barack obama. according to the sorted press he's very close to the electoral votes he'll need to keep his job. mitt romney is doing everything he can changing his means minute to minute to be ahead of the news cycle as opposed to being ahead of the president on the issues. can mitt romney turn this thing

around in the next five weeks. i kind of thing he can. i hear folks on the left and right saying barack obama's got it locked up and i have this rung debate with governor spitzer. i said every time you say president obama has this locked up democrats will stay at home. if you think that you're going to stay home because barack obama has got the whole thing sown up, you are the problem with democracy. you are a barnacle on the dingy of freedom. it's more important than ever to get out and vote. we will be taking your calls all morning long at 866-55-press. we want to know your thoughts on all this stuff. first, i want to talk about what happened last friday on fox news. for those of you who lived in california where i did for about 11 years or so, freeway chases are nothing new on the news.

every time someone robs a stuckey's, helicopters follow the vehicle. what happened on friday was rather tragic. fox news was covering this and fox news to be fair, isn't the only cable news channel isn't the only cable channel that drops everything to follow chases. cnn has done it as well. a man named caesar romero was engaged in a freeway chase wanted for violating his parole for weapons conviction, other violent crimes in his background. fox had no way of knowing this. the car pulled into a field and mr. romero came out of his car as the police closed in on him and pulled out a gun which he then put to his head. we want to play for you the audio from fox news and this is the afternoon anchor. >> continuing to watch what he's

doing and we're just not really sure, but he is looking kind of erratic, isn't he? i don't know. no. and look at this. he's just running. oh my. well, it looks like he is a little disoriented or something. it's always possible the guy could be on something. >> whoa! >> get off get off get off get off get off get off it! >> with that, for work news went directly to commercial. this isn't beating up on fox news, it could have happened to everyone. an autopsy's going to determine if mr. romero was shot by a police officer. according to reports he stopped in this field got out of his car and then an officer fired one shot at him. apparently, that shot missed. so then, romero stumbled and fell down, appearing to shoot

himself in the head. there is question whether he died by his own hand or by a police bullet. >> i'm pretty good it was his own hand. maybe the police bullet hit him. i actually never had that thought. looks like he tumbled. >> yeah. >> it's clear that he stood there on his own power and pulled out the gun and did it himself. >> yeah, obviously very shocking to see, and this is all i heard all day friday, that fox news broadcast a live suicide. shep smith came back. >> we really messed up and we're all really sorry. that didn't belong on t.v. we took every precaution. we knew how to keep that from being on t.v.

i apologize to you that that happened. sometimes we see a lot of things that we don't let get to you because it's insensitive and just wrong and that was wrong. that won't happen again on my watch and i'm sorry. >> i like to think it won't happen again, but the chance is the next freeway chase will be mundane. in a corporate news media that is ratings driven, profit driven, you go for what's the most interesting. if you're a news programmer or big cable news outlet, what is more interesting a barack obama speech about trade policy or a guy tearing down the freeway in a stolen car. i think this is not the last we've seen of this. obviously this is a symptom of the culture that feeds itself and this will be happening again, but it is really tragic. i thought shep smith handled it as well as anybody could since

presumably he was not making the call on content. >> fox news said in a statement later that this was severe human error, because. >> as opposed to cheering on the iraq war relentlessly. >> exactly. when he was saying get off it get off it, he is shifting his attention between what he is saying and live feed from the studio and t.v. feed, which is on the delay. as he's watching the delayed thin, he knows what's coming so he is shouting to his producers get off of it. >> he knew seven seconds earlier. >> he shouted get off it and nobody does. >> a lot of our liberal friends god bless are using this to slam fox news. i give shep a pass on this one. clearly he wasn't calling the shots on what they should be covering and if you're going to use this tragic suicide as an

excuse to slam fox news, you're guilty of some of the blood love the people guilty at fox news are guilty of. i aspire to live in a society where someday we don't want to see blood and guts on camera. what if a tree way chase has a guy smashing into a kid or old lady. at that point do we feelle bad or do we have to wait until somebody gets horribly mutilated on camera before we change as a culture. i remember when i first moved to l.a. from new york city when i was doing a network t.v. show. i was shocked. i would go to the gym and there would be 3t.v. screens and at least one of them had a freeway chase. no one knows the mayor but they all watch the freeway chases every day.

i'd like to say that this is never going to happen again as shep said, what do you think? >> it was or the of an amazing thing to watch. i saw on twitter there's a chase on fox live! oh, my gosh, this is insane. oh he's pulling over. he's pulling over in the field. he's running from the car. immediately the air being let out of the topic when the guy shot himself. now everybody feels bad and how could fox show this. it's kind of like well, you guys were just watching it. you guys are the ones that are watching it. this is what happens when you build it up and make it this big thing opinion you drive everybody to watch it. this is kind of what you were hoping for? >> well, i don't want to go that

for. >> ok. >> i don't want to assume. i think what they're going for is ratings eyeballs, not necessarily blood. i understand what you're saying, but i think there's an actual measure of human satisfaction when these car chases end the way they usually do with some guy getting out of the car and the cops cuffing him behind his back and people feel like they're watching chips. >> i think they watch because there's an element of danger. >> absolutely. >> they are saying maybe this guys going to lose control and run this thing into a building. >> or start throwing money out of the window. >> right or something bad is going to happen. it's the sort of death-defying nature of these times of events that bring people in, i think. >> i think you're right. that's the nature of profit-driven news, more about getting eyeballs than delivering eyeballs, it's going to get more

and more sensationalistic. this is the society we live in. how are we going to respond to it. i still give shep a pass on it. he handled it as well as he could. i'm sorry to say we'll be seeing more of this. we have more coming up today. the great carl frisch will be joining us for the 7:00 p.m. hour. laura bassett of the huffing to know post is going to cover women's issues. that means we'll talk about todd akin. we'll be back shortly. this is bob fugelsang. decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the

presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct. jack you're a little boring. boring. boring. [ jack ] after lauren broke up with me,

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>> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> bill: hey, it is 24 minutes after the hour. talking about jeb bush yesterday coming down, clasping down hard >> i am john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning until 9:00 p.m. eastern time. >> 9:00 a.m. eastern time. >> what did i say? >> 9:00 p.m. >> that's a marathon show. >> i'm eager. i'm going to be 14 and a half hours. >> you couldn't have fooled me for that long. >> i can last that long, that's all i'm saying. we're taking your calls all morning. fill the void left in my life by bill's absence at 866-55-press. we're talking about the debate, the campaign. the press to me seems to be

saying that barack obama's locked it up. i'm surprised by this, because the media's addicted to one thing, ratings your only bias your american media has is towards ratings. i'm surprised when i see the media abandoning this horse race and saying barack obama is very close to the electoral votes. we want the to know what you think. mark you're up extremely early. you're on the bill press show. >> i'm an overnight security guard. >> right i've done it before, worked lots of overtime. welcome. >> i wanted to say real quick your commenting on the thing in fox news in california. >> and phoenix news. >> it's not really that unusual. there was a gentleman that i can't remember his name, but he called a press conference i believe in ohio.

>> in the 1980's. >> bud dwyer. >> and he shot himself at the press conference. i would comment on that, that if it bleeds, it leads. >> in fairness, you don't cover a press conference because you think someone is going to commit violence on themselves. it's a bit of a different scenario. >> fair enough. >> a lot of networks refused to air the footage but some charmers put it up on you tube. >> quick on the comment on the debates themselves. >> great. >> i am an obama supporter i'm going to vote, but i really don't see that anything spectacular is going to happen out of this. chris christie talking about romney being some sort of winner at the debates. comments like i bet you $10,000 that that's the winner. the he's going to go for his zingers just like sarah did whatever it is she said about

joe biden. i can't remember now. >> it took a team of experts weeks to come up with that. >> he's going to go for his zingers and all of that. all obama has to do is zing him back with i was a severe conservative. really? and you passed obamacare. >> i think the danger the president faces is will he be professorial and talk to long and mitt romney be like the mitt romney that had 75% of republicans opposed to him during the primary race. do you think there is a way that there can be a gotcha moment? >> i would agree with you. honestly again ilk admit became an obama supporter. i agree that i think it's really obama's to lose by coming across

at too professorial. here's his numbers versus my numbers. he has to be a bit more down to earth about this is where my policy wants to go, this is where his wants to go. >> you're exactly right mark. i thank you very much for the call. i'm sort of in the minority on this, but i thought he was great about the debates. in spite of the gaffes, you're going to say he's not a better debater then rick perry? i realize it wasn't the most intelligent field he was up against, but it is kind of like michael jordan playing the seven dwarves. when mitt romney stays relaxed he can convey the sort of quasi on you their tarian governmental

figure he tries to cut. i think he's a much better debater than many on the left and right have given him credit for. we're taking your calls all morning. i see the phones are lighting up. i don't think this is barack obama's to win. i think the fight continues. he's got to keep on struggling and pushing every day until election day. if democrats get smug, it's endsville baby. we want to know what you think at 866-55-press. i'm john fugelsang filling in all morning. this is the bill press show.

i.q. will go way up. how are you ever going to solve the problem if you don't look at all of the pieces? >>tv and radio talk show host stephanie miller rounds out current's morning news block. >>you're welcome current tv audience for the visual candy. >>sharp tongue, quick whit and above all, politically direct. >>you just think there is no low they won't go to. oh, no. if al gore's watching today...

>> on your radio and on current tv, this is the big press show. >> this is the bill press show. i am job fugelsang filling in for bill all morning this monday october 1. it is pretty frosty here in our nation the capitol. what have you got going on? >> happy roctober. you never know what you're going to get whether it will be unseasonably warm or turn too fall. >> i came back from new york and thought it's a little chilly

here it's nice, maybe al gore is wrong. we were doing the stephanie miller sexy liberal tour. >> very nice. >> we were on stage and had ron reagan jr. and january satisfiage. they are constantly mistaken for each other. >> i can see that! >> i was talking to ron. he said i was walking out of a store and a woman came up to me and said thank you for santorum. he didn't know what she meant all day. he says it always happens. wherever ron reagan goes, he is mistaken for him. i told ron i know that's a poem in your life but trust me, it gets better. i announced that the sexy liberal tour documentary is still airing on current tv and

we're playing with a very, very special guest star at the beacon theater in new york city october 27 so there's my shameless plug of the minute. >> very exciting. >> i watch the bill press show and listen to the bill press show. whenever i'm in l.a., i'm up between 3:00 and 6:00 listening. i'm excited when i fill in and some of your regular callers join me. it's a pleasure for me to meet arnold from south carolina. >> we've talked before. >> but not on this show. >> we talked on this show. you and i got something in common, we both love the bill press show. >> who doesn't! come on! >> i'm a truck driver. i've been listen got to bill press show for ages, and i'm on an annual thing when the first week of october comes out i'm taking my vacation, because i'm a barack obama supporter and i go home for a whole week to

campaign, being realize in our party, we also have low information voters who don't know what they need to know. >> in our party we have low enthusiasm voters. >> exactly. >> when i say our party, i'm actually not democratic, but i know what you're saying. you take your whole week to campaign? >> barack obama has early voting, and when i go home, man we get up there i get the church van and we just go from community to community. if you need a ride to the polling place some places, i know people kind of on the lays side. i bring my bull whip a little bit. come on, let's go. it might be against the law but i do that too. >> a bull whip and a church fan is not unheard of. that's terrific. i know you're supporting the president. what are your thoughts on the debate this week? >> i like to find out which one

of the republicans paid "saturday night live" not to come on live last night. they had a replay. i was hoping to see something more action. "saturday night live" usually brings things into perspective with a little bit better humor. >> you don't like to see a rerun of mick jagger hosting? >> no, not really. >> i would have loved to watch that. >> i want to see romney get up there, man and stop all his lying he's doing. he just lies like a rug. the man just, every other word is a lie. >> give me an example because i don't think he's on the same level of dishonesty as paul ryan. >> barack obama is robbing the. >> social security. >> medication. >> that's a lie. >> what are they planning to do social security to rob people, privatize it. they need to say hey we need to

pay that money back to the social security trust fund and leave people alone and let them live on. >> that's right. >> people don't remember what life was before social security was in vented. >> that's a fantastic point. a lot of people are smug and take the benefit for granted. they don't remember life without a safety net. they can't imagine society without a safety net. same as freedom and voting, people take advantage and don't appreciate it. >> amen. i'm going to be there tomorrow, man, taking people to the polls. >> you are on vacation now? >> i'm on my way home. i got two more stops and then i'm heading to the house as the truck drivers say. >> right on. bless you arnold, safe travels and thank you for calling in. >> we'll see you, brother the. >> peace. >> barbara is calling us. you're on obscenely well. >> i stayed up especially for this. >> for bill and then you're

stuck with me. >> when is your show starting? >> thank you for asking. my show "so this happened" is starting friday in joy behar's normal starting spot. and then my daily series will be rolling out in november, just after the election. so you'll be very sick of me by christmas time. [ laughter ] >> this week, i'll filling in for bill tomorrow, for joy on wednesday and current tv election covering. i'm like the giving tree. they're taking my trunks, my limbs. i'm happy to be working with these people and talk to you. are you excited about the debate? >> i'm hoping that obama will get under romney's skin by pushing some questions. >> what sort of questions? >> i'm hoping that they will ask about just exactly what

loopholes does he plan on closing, especially because of his taxes, $901,000 tax credit on foreign investments. >> us us. >> that he took. i want to know, there's four different countries, what was the income from that property and where is that declared? >> exactly right. i mean, i think you're correct you know, mitt romney's coming out now and his new message i'm not cutting taxes for the wealthy at all. you can't sign on to paul ryan's budget and say you don't want to cut taxes for the wealthy. >> exactly. >> that's a great question. do you think the president has got on edge here or he just needs to coast and not. >> up or do you think it's still an uphill battle for him? >> i'm sure it's going to be uphill because of the famous dumb white men. >> as a dumb white man i take

offense to that. >> other than yourself, of course. >> thank you, thank you. >> apparently that's the only down poll for him. >> let's be fair, there's plenty of dumb white women out there as well. her man contain has changed all the rules, as well. i think you're right. let me ask you your opinion here. i think governor romney is a much better debater than many on the left give him credit for. he mopped the floor with that field of mental midgets during the primary season. do you think he is more formidable than people realize? >> he is so sure of himself even when he lies that he has has facade. >> there will be the second time and only the second time in romney's career he has debated a democratic. first time was ted kennedy. you can see that on you tube. i highly suggest you watch it

especially if you're pro choice. >> i love what is that, ted kennedy's line where on his many positions. >> he said that it's pro choice, he said you're multiple choice. >> yeah, i love that. >> it was a great debate and everyone should watch it, it's terrific, thank you for the call. >> david is calling us. david, good morning, it's the bill press show. >> good morning john. i saw you on the stephanie miller show a few weeks ago. >> the tour or the t.v. show. >> on the show. >> sometimes me let me in. al gore said let the chimp throw the dart. it landed on my head shot and i was in. >> that was great. i thoroughly enjoyed your show. >> thank you. >> getting back to romney and the debate. i think democrats and all the independents that are out there on the fence they need to be aware that romney is pretty

formidable especially when he stays on script. he knows all the answers when to smile. he's like a trained monkey up there and he knows it. >> i give him a little more credit. he's a pretty smooth operator unless he gets thin-skinned. >> monkeys get their act down and they're pretty smooth. i'm not trying to take anything away from him. he is where he is and he's gotten where he's gotten. obama, if he sticks to his intellect, which he has and he sticks to his not getting his buttons pushed and he's pretty cool with not doing that, he'll do well. american people are fickle. it just takes one smile or one little word, and all of a sudden the other guy's a hero. >> uh-huh. >> and i'm hoping that the people out there that are watching it are being objective and really seeing where romney comes from and what he's done in the past and what he can do in the future.

>> i agree. thank you for the call. we want to know your thoughts at 866-55-press. i'm john fugelsang. we'll be right back. the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

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current tv, it's been all building up to this. >>bill shares his views, now

it's your turn. >>i know you're going to want to weigh in on these issues. >>connect with "full court press with bill press" at facebook.com/billpressshow and on twitter at bpshow. >>i believe people are hungry for it. >> announcer: radio meets television. the "bill press show." now on current tv. >> bill: it is 13 minutes before the top of the hour. >> this is the full court press. >> this is the bill press show. i'm john fugelsang. we are taking your calls at 866-55-press. we are broadcasting live from washington d.c. this is monday, october 1.

it can only be jared. thank you for joining us this morning. every time i hear that commercial folks watching the show on current tv won't get that reference. if you're listening to the radio, you have that jingle stuck in your head. >> it has a way. >> i'm convinced it can only be something paul mccartney wrote for wings and it's too catchy. we're taking your calls. we got another call about the debate, but first i want to give a bit of good news. there's lots of depressing news, but i want to give props to governor jerry brown of the state of california. california has become the first state in the nation to ban gay cure therapy for children. i think that gay reparative therapy is hilarious. i have some friends who tried to teach lots of guys to not be

straight, and it didn't work. i can assume it's only the way for our gay children. governor brown signed the bill prohibiting children from under the age of 18 from undergoing sexual orientation change efforts. this to me is like getting rid of leeches to treat cancer. the law goes into effect january 1 and prohibits state-licensed therapists from engaging in these practices with minors. if you have a child who's gay in california and you want to ungay them and change who they really are, you can't do it with medical professionals. you have to rely on religious crack pots and that's and it is great, great advance in society. michele bachmann's extraordinarily extremely hetero sexual husband marcus has run a gay reparative clinic for a while. i can only hope this senate bill

is going to be a positive for everyone. you know, when i was a kid, i don't know if you had this experience i had kids in grade school junior high and high school i knew were gay. when i was 11 years old i worked in theater and began hanging out with gay duties and began to get over my regional homophobia and had more respect for people who were different. everyone i knew who was gay in junior high are gay and happy now. the job is not to change them, it's to love them. >> i grew up in south carolina, so i didn't actually know of the topic of gay people. we didn't acknowledge homosexual people. >> they were just deviates in allies. >> exactly. >> i haven't gone to my high school reunions, but i've seen on facebook people that you knew and i'm going oh, of course.

so now it clicks. we never acknowledged it in the south. >> it's never been harder to be cruel to gay people and gay kids than it is now. it's still very easy to be cruel to gay children. i hated to use the term bullying. oh, that's bullying. to me, it's pure harassment, pure abuse. it's criminal harassment. you know, so anything that makes life easier for these kids is ok by my book, anything that brings them closer to acceptance and is just something that's a moral win for the nation. go jerry brown. it's nice to see him taking break from the budget hell he lives in and doing this. i want to take another call from paul in the great city i just flew in from last night seattle. good morning. >> good morning.

my question for the debate would be is governor romney's -- governor etch-a-sketch, that is, his refusal to release a history of tax returns to be taken as a new standard and setting a new precedent for presidential candidates or should we take this as just one time just for him just for now? i'd like to see how both of them respond to that. >> what do you think mitt romney is going to say if he's asked that question. >> i think he'll say it's up to the individual. >> he will, he will, just as it was up to his father when his father released 11 or 12 years when he set the standard. >> if i was barack obama, i would remind the american people that we have employers who will require a drug test. we have employers that will ask for your facebook password. we have all kinds of standards that employers require of us that you would think actually

seem more invasive to me rather than simply showing us that you pay taxes and you're within the law for the next 10 years or so. my personal opinion is we need a bill that says that when you take the nomination for your party, your tax returns become public records. >> i think you're right paul. i don't think that will ever happen in a free society. i don't think you can make that law in a free society. i thank you for the call. i remind you mitt romney gave john mccain 22 years of tax records which tells me he's much more enthusiastic about being vice president. it's the bill press show. we'll be right back. dose of politics from a fresh

perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

>> this is the bill press show. i'm john fugelsang. we are back on the air. i'm putting my breakfast to the side. normally, i try to sneak food in the commercial breaks. i learned from stephanie miller that it's actually very professional to eat on camera. >> i was going to wait for you to take a bite and ask your question. >> if you'd like to watch someone eating during a radio show on t.v., stay tuned. the stephanie miller show follows and you can watch them go crazy. that's really the food network. we're taking your calls at 866-55-press. our last caller, paul from seattle made good points about governor romney's tax returns. my two theories about why he doesn't want his tax returns released on the surface he

doesn't want folks to know he's this wealthy and makes all this money without having to work and lives off interest. my favorite theories are that he's under tithing to the mormon church. that's called charity by the way, and that he doesn't want the mormon church to know what he's made. >> the most convincing is that mitt romney does not want his returns released because he doesn't want the world knowing that he's doing much better than he was four years ago. we want to know what you think. give us your thoughts at 866-55-press. i'm john fugelsang. carl frisch of bull fight strategies joins us in the next hour. we've been reading email and we've got some unhinged ones. this is the bill press show. it's on your radio within on

your computer and on t.v.

>> can i read the hate mail before we go to lisa ferguson? woody fisher in florida. all you dem creates are going to lose. admit you picked a liberal. you are going to be neutered. explanation point. i love the dumb haters. apparently we are all going to loose this year. we thank you for watching. it's time to head over to the deep bunker on the west coast to

the beautiful and fabulous lisa ferguson with a current tv update. >> it's fun being a dem create, isn't it? >> it's all expectations at this point before the presidential debate. each candidate wants to do better than people think they will so they either lower their expectations for themselves or raise them for their opponent. there is a new video setting the bar high for mitt romney. >> i think what mitt romney needs is a game-changer with the first debate. >> the fact of the matter is that has to be what happens. the narrative has to change. romney has to clobber the president. >> that video isen you tube. the top comment there is mitt doesn't have a chance. governor chris christie apparently missed the lower the expectations memo. here he is sunday. >> i have absolute confidence when we get to thursday morning all of you are going to be

shaking your heads saying it's a brand new race. >> that's a bit off script for the romney campaign which for the last week has praised the president's strong speaking abilities and debate experience. romney hopes to turn the tables during the debate. "the new york times" said that is just not likely. history shows only two elections have seen a big impact from the debates. the first, of course in 1960 during that first televised debate when americans saw kennedy and nixon on t.v. the second was the year 2000 when george bush overtook vice president al gore. as john mentioned earlier in the show that does not mean it is time to get complacent. one thing romney could have going for him is that the jobs report is out just 36 hours after the first debate. more john fugelsang coming up on the full court press and we're always live in chat, join us there, current.com/billpress.

you're about to watch an ad message created by a current tv viewer for capella university. matter. i've been a nurse since 1979. i love being a nurse. a few years ago a friend i went to grade school with showed me a book she had kept from third grade. i had written that i wanted to be a nurse. after being a nurse for about twenty years i decided that i need to further my education. my masters degree was done completely online and that gave me the freedom and ability to do my education while i raised my kids and worked full time. raising my kids as a single mom and having them see me get my education online and work opportunity to see that they can do anything that they want to. i'm currently the hospital administrator for two public hospitals. we serve patients who might not otherwise get care.

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>> this is the bill press show coming to you live from our nation's capitol on your television, on current tv, on your radio and on your computer. i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill today and all day today and tomorrow on the bill press show or as i call it, good press. today is the 88th birthday of former president jimmy carter born october 1 in 1924. wishing him a very happy birthday. it's the birthday of the late

tom bass lee late walter matthau and the late randy quaid. he's still very much alive. >> happy birthday. >> thank you. >> there you go. >> assisted as always by the great peter ogburn. i'm excited about our guest the great carl frisch. >> there's so much i want to talk to you about. that's why i'll go to peter. >> we'll get to you in a second. >> here's what's making news. we talked about the lingerie league last week. some of the replacement leagues came from the lingerie league. >> there's nothing like talking

about lingerie on the radio. >> here we go again. for all the fans of the league, don't worry because the bikini basketball league is coming to your rescue, consisting of seven teams. >> they make the puppy bowl look sophisticated. >> the miami spice the hollywood hotties and the orlando cats. >> lady cats. >> the orlando lady cats. >> i'm hearing they're also going to have a bikini ice hockey team. >> is that right? for nipple punches. >> i was going to say. >> you're going to see women playing basketball in bikinis. >> are they wearing heels? then i'd watch. >> i don't think so. i think you would have to wear the regular shoes. >> is there a harlem globe tatas? >> i'm always inspired anytime american sports finds a new way to exploit women.

that's terrific. thank you for that coverage. >> a lot of renoir was bought for $7 at a flea market. the auction of the piece island scape on the banks of the saine was due to take place over the weekend but was canceled. this painting may have been stolen over 60 years ago. the auction house and museum have notified the f.b.i. who are investigate it, but haven't said whether the buyer will get their $7 back. >> was it part of thomas crown? you go to all this trouble to rob a piece of art and it ends up in a garage sale. why the effort? >> if you're listening stuck in

traffic, you have our sympathies. in brazil, the average traffic jam extends for a total of 112 miles, and that is on a good day. a bad day can see traffic jams up to 183 miles and commutes of more than two hours each way. one resident said it was like a sea of cars. though it's a good way to meet people, because she met her husband in a traffic jam. >> wow. i got to say because the quality of life in south hollow is otherwise so wonderful. >> really, yeah. there you go, that's it. >> that's it? that's the full court press. >> it's yours now buddy. >> it's not the same without dan here making us all uncomfortable. thank you so much. that's brilliant. carl, welcome to the show. always a pleasure to have you here. obviously the big story this week is the first obama-romney debate. i'm very excited about this, because these are two guys who i

wouldn't say are great debaters. >> right. >> i think they both have strengths and very pointed weaknesses. >> i've been calling the first debate romney game changer version 3.0. >> yes. he's going to purpose it around this week. >> yes. first it was you'll get a running mate and you'll see this race get shaken up. at the convention, he's going to give a speech like nobody's ever seen before. now it's like the first debate. seriously, guys, quit laughing. >> they've been waiting for the moment, this is it. >> it's always interesting to watch both sides kind of play with the expectations here. my favorite piece of news is romney is practicing zingers. >> i can't believe they let that leak. >> humor is one of his strong suits. >> i remember back in the 1980's when he did improv and he was fantastic. he did bird calls and great

christopher walkin impression. >> that's right. >> why why why would you leak that mitt romney its rehearsing his ad libs? >> because that's how they think of humor. >> why would you leak it that he was working on his zing officers why wouldn't you say he is working on his solid foreign policy argument and let him zing his zingers? >> what they're setting up is that if he does actually screw up one imagine like he's in a previous presidential debate, he said i'd like to know where that beef is. it's like oh, these are the zingers you've been practicing. >> again you go there. >> yeah. [ laughter ] >> i am here and i know who i am. >> yeah, i can't imagine that there's any upside to tell people you've rehearsed one liners. the whole point is to show that you're quick on your feet and have a sense of humor. >> they've taken it away now. he could have the greatest

zinger in the world but it's blown because we know he's rehearsed it. >> do you ever go out on stage and say all the material for which i'm about to presented to you has been rehearsed to find the best laughter. >> it's definitely scripted, just to make it seem spontaneous. the whole point is you do the prep and having his stand in for barack obama but still but still, like this is what rupert murdoch was talking about. i hate to go here, but when he was tweeting about how romney's advisors were the worst. he tweet fire department you're going to take on the chicago machine, jetson your old friends. god bless you abyou got me a lot of air time with the etch-a-sketch thing but when rupert murdoch is telling you to dump your staff and you don't. >> there is a politico story several weeks ago about how everybody hates his campaign

manager which is can go. one of the reporters who wrote it, he had to wait until the end of the last election to write the everybody hates the leader article about palin and mccain. if this is what he's publishing, imagine what they're working about for the book about this election. it must be pretty bad inside. nobody is happy with his campaign. ultimately the responsibility lies with him. >> it does. it seems we've had two campaigns in a row where the gop has picked a person that the gop is not all that crazy about. >> they're never going to be happy. >> they were happy with governor bush. >> well, they were happyish. >> they were very happy with president bush. that was brand name loyalty. >> if they pick somebody who is as conservative as they'd like them to be, they would no chance of winning so even if they picked somebody like a rubio for somebody else and made it to get the nomination, that person

would have to go to the middle. the second thing about going to the middle, they'd be seen as some kind of traitor to the movement. mitt romney is not liked but the brain trust in washington picks who they want and they almost pick somebody they're comfortable with. >> i don't think that's true. i think in 2008, the most inspiring thing about that campaign was how in both parties, we saw front runners annointed by the media and campaign bosses, senator clinton and governor romney was presumed to be the nominee back then. in both parties we saw the voters take the whole process back from the bosses and the media. >> that's true. >> no one thought barack obama and john mccain would be the nominees in 2008. >> that's true. i don't know necessarily about barack obama i thought john mccain would be. >> the new hampshire primary was a big upset. >> if you look at 2000 and don't realize that he won 49% against

george bush. if you look at the early stages of the primary hiring staff, mccain had all the top notch people in his team. he fired a lot because he ran out of money but he had most of the good people that you would want on your team on his team. romney the same way this time around. republicans have a habit of picking people who have run and lost before. there has only been george w. bush since 1976 has been nominated in the republican party without having previously run for and lost the nomination. >> very good point. >> we've only had one ticket, excluding this one that did not include a bush or a dole on it since 1976. >> that's true. >> they pick what they're familiar with, what they're comfortable with. in this election in 2012 they didn't have a lot of options other than mitt romney. i think that probably tells the lock of enthusiasm around his candidacy. what were they going to do, go

with michele bachmann, rick perry. >> the comedians were praying for it. i do a lot of stand up on this and you talked about it as well. the gop had seven front runners in this season, governor romney started. no one liked him. michele bachmann bought the iowa straw pole. that's what made tim paw lente drop out. if he stayed, they were looking for the anti romney conservative. they went with michele bachmann which led to rick perry who was a huge front runner until he talked which led to herman contain,--cain who was leading in polls. >> donald trump was the original front runner. >> yeah, you know. >> he may have been only two

weeks in the poll. >> i have no reason to take anything about donald trump and the political process seriously. most of its done to generate interest. >> in a reality t.v. show. >> where celebrities or former celebrities pretend to respect him. although the robo calls were object knocksous. governor romney has not refuted him and rebuked him publicly for the racist birther hypocrite argument. >> every week or so, there's an opportunity for romney to have what i call like the sister soldier moment where he shows his independence from the party or from the extreme base by saying something everybody else in the country thinkses. whether rebuking trump pushing down the birther stuff, any of that is an opportunity for him. he doesn't take it because he can't. >> why can't he? >> the only reason paul ryan is

his running mate, you look at when he was originally going to announce paul ryan, the week he got back from europe and the olympics, which we all know was a disastrous trip for him. polling was falling out on his campaign, fouling out the bottom of his campaign. if they didn't pick a very conservative base pleasing running mate, then they risked walking into their convention with no base support and that would have been a crippling position to be in. >> you're exactly right, yet who wouldn't have been base pleasing compared to governor romney. when he has 51% of the voters polled not favoring him right now, he had 75% of republican voters not favoring him in the primary season. he's doing better than he was against his own people. rob portman would have pleads the base, tame pawlenty. >> it had to be somebody to

please the movement activist and the brain trust within the party >> is it because people got to know romney and liked him less? >> it's over a decade. >> we're going to take your calls when you come back. let us know what you think about the campaign and the first debate at 866-55-press. this is the bill press show. presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

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>> announcer: this is the "bill press show." live on your radio and current tv. >> bill: 27 minutes now after the hour. tuesday on the "full court press." >> heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the big press show. >> this is the bill dress show. i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning today and tomorrow and taking your calls at 866-55-press. joined in studio by the great democratic strategist mr. bill frish. i'm pretty much a chimp next to someone like you. i do think it's a lot more

complex than the media is leading. >> these debates long before you hear the media talking about them. the campaigns get together to decide what format is agreeable to each candidate. >> exactly. >> you'll only speak for two minutes, then you get 115 then you get 15 seconds. >> how anybody thinks you can have an important discussion in any kind of formality like that is beyond me. we'd be better off to see talk for 30 minutes on the economy. we'll consult you off and let the other person speak but have at it, gentleman. >> do we get more honest debates in the primary? >> maybe, but it's hard to get more out of the candidates, because so little time is devoted to each.

>> that's true. >> oddly enough, the lesser likely to be the nominee candidates end up getting the more serious questions and less time during the debates than the candidates elected to be the nominee. >> is it a deliberate collusion to cushion the front-runners. >> no. i think what the media does at least in the primaries is to say if we don't include these interesting people, there will be no end to it. the other things is how are these candidates supposed to break out if they are not included. they are all former congress people and senate people. it's not every candidate that's running. in new hatch shire or iowa, you're walking to that ballot box, those nine people are going to be on the ballot, but so are 35 others. >> you think the debate can sway the argument?

during the debate can. >> i think the tone barack obama took in 2008 compared to john mccain's tone swayed the debates. >> if there's a good comparison between the people yeah, but i don't think that the issues get enough attention in detail during the debates for that to sway somebody, unless somebody really steps in it. >> i agree karl. we're going to take your tweets or you can email the show. beef got a couple of great emails including a great hate email. are you ready to talk to some people? >> yeah. 866-55-press, i'm john fugelsang, this is the bill press show.

dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

>> this is the big press show live on your radio and current tv. >> it is the bill press show. i'm john fugelsang joined by karl frisch. we are talking about the debate this week. i have a few tweets i'd like to share. rum and coke party writes mitt romney facing even lower expectations after losing practice debates against the tickle me elmo doll. >> i've heard that as the nickname of paul ryan.

>> that's the outsource me tickle me elmo doll. >> alan west. >> alan west is free. alan keys is free. >> when you were the best debater in a roomful of losers, how good does that make you? i've got to think i thought mitt romney, there were times and people are going to hate me. there were times mitt romney reminded me of bill clinton in the debates just because they that everything at him. all the debates seven people and he would withstand it. >> $10,000 bet that he's not terribly likable as an individual but he kept his cool in ways i admired. >> he would laugh off hahaha.

>> i don't like the term entitlement. i think we need to say earned benefits. i don't think any president, i don't think they'll ever want to go down in history as the guy who got rid of social security. finally, mccain, the ace pilot who crashed two planes before he went to war is ready to go to war in the middle east. genius. >> lee writes to the big press show all you dumb as demcrates are going to loose. newt, you should be neutered, four exclamation points.

he picked an illegal. >> he can spell democrats without an e. barack obama of course is an illegal immigrant from kenya who owns a time machine which he used to place a birth announcement in hawaii. >> if he did own a time machine, wouldn't the news of the time machine be more impressive than where you were born. >> exactly. the year 1962 whenever you were born and you plant a news story about your birth you don't say look at my time machine. >> if i was a conservative who was a birther i'd be demanding barack obama use his time machine to go back and make billions bring that back and balance the budget. that makes as much sense as the

birther theory. that's from woody fisher. thank you, woody we thank you for not being hooked on to knowics. >> or reality. >> you said something john that made me jump up out of the bed. >> i've done that to lots of women. >> stop that. you said mitt romney was a good debater. >> compared to what he was with. >> wait! how can you be a good debater when you are debating nothing? >> are you saying michele bachmann is not a formidable opponent? >> herman cain, rick perry i'm going to get rid of congress. the only guy that was on that

stage that could have stupid up to mitt romney, don't lower the bar for this president. what about the time when rick perry was getting up under his skin and he called for anderson cooper anderson, make him stop. come on, did you miss that? >> listen. >> let me finish, because i ain't got but a second. >> please finish. i'm enjoying it. >> huh? >> yeah, go on. >> when it comes to a line, you said paul ryan outlined him. no from day one web start out with lice saying his name was mitt romney. his name's willard. john mccain saying you look at the economy we know it's not

true. from then on, this man has been lying, lying lying lying lying. >> yep. >> the only way he's going to win this debate is if he steal it he buy it or whatever. when you don't stand for something mr. john, you fall for anything. they throwing money at him throwing lies, trying to steal the folks. he is not going to stand. >> joanne, i think i want you to be my on camera sidekick for my new series on current tv. you just opened up a can of whoop ass on the entire republican party and me, and i do agree with you. what i said, and i said people are going to be mad at me, the only reason i compared him to bill clinton as a debite or is he got so much hate thrown at him and for the most part didn't get flustered. i do think barack obama's strategy has got to be without being too aggressive how do we

get under governor romney's skin. it doesn't take much to get mitt romney going or to make him look really robotic. if you think about the one-on-one interviews with reporters, few and far between even fox news asks him a question, he does his weird awkward chuckle. oh yeah. i don't think it will take much. it is a completely different experience debating seven people versus one. >> this is only the second time in his life he is debating a democratic after ted kennedy mopped the floor with him 18 years ago. >> right. >> he's not really up on that. >> so it will be interesting to see. i think the president is going to keep his tail in certain regards. >> unless in my opinion the president becomes too academic and professorial. they say it turns people off. it turns dumb people off. smart people like that. >> it will be interesting to see what type of a presentation

would convince the remaining undecideds without turning off others. >> what can the governor do, short of a national tragedy or horrific event that makes the white house look bad and who knows, they're trying everything they can to spin libya into that, but what can the governor do at this point to turn things around? >> have a good one liner that the president doesn't respond to, catch the president saying something inafterfully and capitalize on it. that for the most parent doesn't happen with this president. barack obama was in debates with hillary before mccain. he's not likely to make those mistakes. >> he faced a much more formidable opponent.

>> joe biden the guy from connecticut, who's now in charge of the motion picture industry, i can't remember his name off the top of my head. bill richardson, the former ambassador of the united nations and secretary of energy. these are who the crop of candidates that president obama beat. >> i think if gary johnson had been allowed in those debates it would have been much more interesting. >> it would have been interesting to see what ron paul's philosophy looks like without crazy. >> you. >> and not to say that i don't think that the philosophy is crazy, but the presentation of the philosophy. >> half of it is very sane. half of it is beyond the

democrats. i think that ron paul is one of the few people in congress to stand up and say that the iraq war was unconstitutional. it was. >> libertarianism is like the hold out spot for people who want to think that they're better than the democrats and conservatives. i'd like at this point, first of all, you're never going to elect a libertarian. second of all there's far more room to negotiate and soften your position in economics on the left than social issues on the right. >> yeah. >> anybody who is a libertarian in the republican party is not doing anything to help their philosophies. >> i agree. you don't see anyone who is going to stand up and say american with disabilities act bad idea. >> we'll be taking your calls when we return. i'm john fugelsang joined by the great karl frisch. do not go away.

like you. >>now that's politically direct. (vo) what is said here could decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

>> announcer: this is the "full court press." the "bill press show." current tv. >> this is the bill press show. i'm john fugelsang joined by the great karl frisch trying to figure out what mitt romney can possibly do short of healing lepers with his hands to beat barack obama. i'm a big supporter of saying.

>> he would bumble it and knock an arm off. >> well, my friend, this opens up a whole new world of opportunity for you. i think the media really gives it to obama at their peril. people have begun saying it's locked up. the media has a stake in a horse race. >> in terms of the debate, you are hearing more talk about how romney can have a game changer. >> they're hoping. >> of course. this thing is too close too oral or too much of a sprint too early, then they're in trouble as far as ratings go. we are as a party, as well. as a liberal who wants to see the president reelected it makes me uneasy to think about this thing being done. even the polling points to that. i remember when george w. bush was elected elected by the supreme court

to be president. when he was reelected four years later. >> i would say he was elected for the first time. >> that a joke can't win is ridiculous. i think obama was probably going to win regardless of how bad the economic condition got. >> yes. >> but he won by a larger margin as a result. anything can happen. >> i completely agree. we've had jokes hit the white house before. warren harding might not be able to get the white house with 24 hour news cycles, the more cameras on the candidates, the harder for i imbecile's to get there. >> anything can happen that isn't handled perfectly. as we saw in 2007 or 2008, that can be a game-changer. in a race this close even on the national level i think we

need to be mindful of that. if anything, it should be getting us up earlier us getting more coffee to walk those precincts and explain how important it is to vote and make sure everybody has the proper identification to get in there and cast their ballots. if you were worried about mitt romney and now taking solace in the fact that he is now behind in the poles you need to get off your couch. >> every time they said he has it wrapped up, 10 more people stay home. >> he's going to be gone in four years. do you want a great crop of candidates governorships across the country that can take his place when it's time? you need to think about this. republicans spend a lot of effort filling their bench with suitable mayors, city councilmen and congressman and state legislatures. if you stay home, not only do

you risk the president losing the election, but maybe a governor doesn't get a job or a senator tase home so we don't get a majority. >> laurie is calling us from kalamazoo, michigan. >> good morning john, how are you? >> i'm terrific now how are you? >> i'm a big caffeinated fan. [ laughter ] >> i use a kardashian rant to claim acquaintances. >> they pretty much jack me up on coffee and put me in front of a green screen. the new episode is coming out tomorrow all about the washington redskins as a really embarrassing racist team name in this century. >> can't wait. i read a new york times article

where a gentleman who had been a reagan stand in for mondale in 1984 during his debate prep, and he made a point after launching tons of video of debates that for any challenger debating an income bent president as sitting president that that challenger gets a bit of a lift and authority just by being on the platform. >> of course. >> with a sitting president who carries the gravitas of the office. based on that, unless romney wanders up there with his mormon underwear not tucked in. >> now, now. >> that on some level goofs and gaffes aside, he's going to get that maybe. what are your thoughts about that. >> that's a really smart question, laurie and i thank you for the call.

i guess there's no way you don't increase your eminence just that you're on that stage. >> you give romney an opportunity, he can screw anything up. >> her point is i think also that even if you lose, you set yourself up for whatever career you want post presidential election. >> i'm sure it's something he is thinking about. i read an article about how romney's transition has begun and his people are speaking with those that might get cabinet posts and everything else. now if this is the obama campaign in 2008. >> romney's transition? >> we see this in every election. in 2008 when it was happening with barack obama, fox news and the right wing media went bonkers that he was measuring the drapes before he was even elected. >> how dare he! entitled. before we go to break bill is going to have a book signing. if you want to meet mr. bill dress in carolina, he's goings

to be signing copies of his book. i'm going to hold it up, friday october 12 at avenue m. restaurant and bar in ashville, north carolina. go meet bill and come back and watch his show with me and karl right after this break. perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv. dose of politics from a fresh perspective. >>i'm a slutty bob hope. the troops love me. >>only on current tv.

[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: this is the "bill >> this is the bill dress show. i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning long joined by karl frisch. any final notes and where can people follow you?

>> go to my website karlfrisch.com. tell the moderators to ask questions based on substance. >> i would ask mitt romney if you had your way and roe v. wade was repealed, who would deserve longer jail times women who term nateed pregnancies or the doctors. also a pleasure to talk to you. what a pleasure. we'll be right back taking your calls at 866-55-press right after this.

>> good morning, this is the bill press show. i'm john fugelsang filling in for bill all morning long. it is october 1 2012. today is the third anniversary of sony launching the first ever consumer c.d. player. this is the anniversary of incot center opening and 41 anniversary of disney opening. fifty years ago today the johnny carson show premiered.

we're going to take your calls and talk about the election and upcoming debate. it's time to go to lisa ferguson and another news update. >> good morning everyone. speaking of things going on today, the supreme court starts its new term with some major decision to say tackle. we could hear rulings about affirmative action, gay marriage and voting rights. chief justice john roberts last term joined liberals in voting to uphold the affordable care act. he'll likely stick with his fellow conservatives, but accounted be a bit less predictable. >> a new celebrity voting campaign is underway, called vote for stuff and encourages young people to use social media to talk issues most important to them. it takes a light hearted tone, asking what would you vote for

if you could vote for anything. >> i'd vote yes on cats. i know they're up to something but i like them. >> vote to keep tigers out of school. >> seriously, tang russ. >> you guys, rock the vote. this isn't rock the vote? >> the video senilely gets more serious emphasizing the importance of voting on the real issues like marriage equality, climate change, reproductive rights and education. decaprio's production company is sponsoring the vote for stuff campaign. when it comes to voting, the presidential debate is taking up the spot light. we have plenty of things to consider. groups have spent $19 million against democratic senator sherrod brown. nearly all of that money comes from organizations that do not have to disclose their donors. we are live in chat and we hope

to see you there.

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[ ♪ theme ♪ ] >> announcer: broadcasting across the nation on your radio >> broadcasting across the nation on your radio and on current tv. this is the bill press show. >> it is tweeted paul ryan is so frustrated with mitt romney, he hopes liam neeson comes to rescue the campaign. i'm john fugelsang sitting in for bill. thank you so much for spending your morning with us. we are taking your calls at 866-55-press. we're talking all about the debate this week and all about the campaign. we are talking about the gift of

comedy that is jerry brown's admirable of banning reparative gay behavior. >> i think you cover issues that a lot of men care about too. >> i hope men care about those issues. >> a lot of men care about todd akin. >> yes. >> you don't have to have ovaries to care. it's one thing to say women don't deserve freedoms. however when you say women who are raped aren't victims because the let's see it again

todd akin said that the female body has a way of shutting down pregnancies from rape, legitimate rape. it's nauseating just to repeat those words. you would think that in a decent society, any man who would say that would be drummed out of office. >> you would think. >> that has not happened. mr. legitimate rape is now a legitimate contender. what is going on? >> i think the shock caused republicans to be embarrassed by akin and push him out of the race. coral rove made a joke about trying to hire someone to murder todd akin and romney said he should get out of the race and akin held his ground. now that the shock dissipated, the desire for the senate to take over, santorum endorsed him and sent him money.

you're starting to see people turn around. >> newt gingrich showed up. >> he is backing him. >> lindsey graham. >> uh-huh. >> coburn. sometimes i think the democrats have overplayed their hand with the war on women. i've gotten flak once for saying i didn't agree with a statement that was going to hurt democrats. how can you not think that this man hates women to say something like this? >> i've been following the campaign. his biggest ally right now in trying to get the women's vote is phyllis sclafley who believes women should be in the kitchen barefoot all the time. >> gay hater, as well. >> gay hater birth control hater, equal pay hater. >> most people, unless you were

like a news nerd, people under 50 have no idea who that is. someday that will be sarah palin. >> you think? >> yeah, she'll be a screechy loud mouth from the right. i like how marginalized phyllis schlafley has gotten. >> they rolled out women for akin. they had an odd video. >> it looks like one of those dove commercials. real women they had a sampling of women there just cheering on an absent todd akin. >> it's odd. i reported first that the video which apparently didn't mean to go live, they took it down right after i reported on it, it was the first woman breaking in video had a woman hiding in the shadows talking about todd akin. she couldn't show her face.

she had no idea and she was saying i got raped and he didn't judge me at all. >> no one ever accused him of judging rape victims. >> right. >> no one ever said you were mean to rape victims. >> he did say legitimate rape. >> that to me, i if people had a moral center, they'd be holding paul ryan's feet to the fire or his comments on rape. >> not only his comments, but legislation. he tried to redefine rape in the house, he backed a bill that changed the definition to forcible rape along with. >> as opposed to consensual rape. i get really angry about this. i have a hard time being funny.

forcible rape. the notion that women are lying correct? or that women are passive and allow rapes to happen. >> right. >> i'm speechless that these people are allowed to run for office in the 21st century. >> it's true. i think they're trying to make the distinction between statutory or forcible. >> stattatory implies consent hey, come and get it. >> if you're 13 and sleeping with a 52-year-old, it was consensual. it's statutory. it's egregious. >> he has argued that what this minority of priests have done is not rape, because they were the children were not prepubescent and because it wasn't violent so it's not actually rape, they were consensual acts. i don't see how you can care about children, women or the human race and speak like this. for the party of family values, go ahead and be opposed to abortion all you want. it's something jesus never once

mentioned by the way, he was against the death penalty and against abortion. you know christians, but how you can do this and how a decent society and how the media that can't crush piece people. when you consider how the other politicians have been crushed for far less egregious defenses. >> why didn't anybody point that out? that was pretty nuts, both parties had him blessing. >> when you've got catholic running mates you don't really need to quote the far right catholic vote that heart. timothy dolan is not going to support the catholic side over to obama. i would surprised he would go to the convention. >> he kind of delivered a parting shot in his blessing

saying we pray for those waiting to be born. it was clearly an anti abortion shot at the d.n.c. >> as soon as they're here, we can cut all funding for day care and public schools. what do you think is the most pressing issue for the female voter this year? it's easy to have todd akin as a booing gee man. what do you think is the number one voting issue for women in 2012. >> the economy job. women have lost more jobs under obama than any other president. that is a statistic the romney consistently rolls out women are suffering under obama more than any other president. it's not necessarily because of obama's policies. it's budget cuts in red states have forced them to lay off teachers, a majority of women lay off heal care workers majority of women. >> the same argument they use for african-american voters, that the unemployment rate is so high.

in so many states, it's because so many government jobs have been cut. when you get smaller government, they want to blame you for putting people out of work. >> exactly. >> yeah, it's -- and it works. a lot of people are fooled by this. it's no different i think laura, than these politicians who come out and say freedom isn't free and cut my taxes. it's this, they're talking out of both sides of their mouth. >> and we need to reduce the debt, because that works. >> we're talking with laura bassett and taking your calls at 866-55-press. are you excited about the debate? >> super excited. i'm the most excited about the vice presidential debate but i'm excited to hear president obama go head-to-head against romney. i hear romney has been working on his zingers. >> the ad libs have been very well rehearsed. >> it's going to be great. i'm excited to hear romney's

cheesy jokes. it's going to be excitedding. >> that's what mitt romney is known for is a stark sense of humor. [ laughter ] >> i liked hearing him talk about football last week. >> i think it humanizes him. >> except that he seemed extremely uncomfortable. it was you know, i think the old refs should come back. [ laughter ] >> it was great hearing such a pro union argument. >> i agree. >> can we get the staff in it. >> even scott walker. >> can we get these scab nfl referees in front of a classroom so maybe the media will care about public schools maybe? the outrage over these poor unionized referees is something i've never seen before in the media. i blame the media more than the politicians. >> really? >> i do. because i didn't hear the media coming to the defense of

schoolteachers in wisconsin. >> i didn't hear the president coming to the defense of them, either. >> that's a very fair point. i hear a very one sided argument against the union teachers in wisconsin. we were unhappy with the kids in chicago missing school. i would turn on the t.v. and see politicians lying when the teachers were doing this for more money. >> they were asking for a lot of things. >> that republican voters agree with. >> yeah, but it wasn't just republicans. it wasn't republicans versus the teachers. obama was silently through that entire thing. that frustrated a lot of people. their main opponent in chicago was rahm emanuel. >> he's a very conservative democratic, never known as a fierce liberal. >> to take on public schoolteachers two months before the election, that's gutsy. >> in an election year, what do you do? what kind of compromises do you make? i'm sure barack obama

sympathized. >> bill clinton in 1996 signed the defense of marriage act banning marriage for gay and less bean tax paying silt sense in a free society. people still hold that against him. activists were disappointed by it. i understand why he did it. i don't think bill clinton was against gay marriage in 1996. it was an election year. he knew if he vetoed it and said i believe in equality for all citizens, there was a good chance bob dole could have beaten him. sometimes taking the mean route not caring about the little guy serves the greater good. i think we see politicians doing this all the time in the democratic party. while i would have liked to see barack obama show up and fight for the unions, i understand why he didn't. is that a fair defense of the president? >> a fair defense that he is putting politics and his reelection over being a strong leader? i think that that is a defense that continues to be used for a

lot of politicians and i think personality that it's bull . >> no worries at all. here's the flip side of that argument. what if barack obama comes to the defense of the unions and the right wing hate machine uses that to smear him. >> what are they going to smear him with that he stood up for teachers? why would that necessarily. >> it didn't help him in wisconsin. bill clinton came to the defense of the unions and it didn't help him at all. >> he already had his mind made up about scott walker. >> i guess. i'm not so sure. when you look at how vastly scott walker out spent his opponents, mitt romney, the fake conservative used his money to railroad all the real conservatives in the debates. we're going to be taking your calls. we have to go to break.

i'm john fugelsang filling in for the bill press show. we're going to be taking your call at 866-55-press. that's 866-55-press. we're going to be playing my favorite sound bytes from the news shows when we come back. (vo) what is said here could decide the election. current tv presents coverage of the presidential debate. with unrivaled analysis and commentary. >> you're going to hear that used as a major talking point. (vo) the only network with real-time reaction straight from the campaigns and from viewers like you. >>now that's politically direct.

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♪ is the "bill press show." >> announcer: heard around the country and seen on current tv this is the "bill press show." >> john: this is the "bill

press show." i'm john fuglesang happy to have filled in for bill this morning. laura bassett of "the huffington post," how can people follow you? >> follow me on twitter at le bassett, two ss and two ts, i would love to have a conversation with you. >> john: the fans will engage you. follow me on the twitter at john fuglesang. sadly, you have to know how to spell john fuglesang. pleasure filling in. i hope i'm invited back tomorrow. we'll see how it goes. i'll be here tomorrow morning. for those of you watching us on tv, if you're lucky you'll stick around listen to "the stephanie miller show." i had a great show with her in seattle. we were joined by ron reagan and dan savage on stage. it is october 1st. enjoy the fall and get your friends to vote! we'll see you tomorrow. news. that's my parting shot for today.